The Love Cottages
Memphis Heritage completed a fourteen-month renovation of four 1880 cottages, originally part of the Mayor George C. Love estate. Love served four months as mayor of Memphis, from 1915 to 1916. The Love estate was donated to the city in 1976 by Mary Love. While the main building was renovated in the early 1980's and presently serves as the office for the Center for Neighborhoods, the cottages have been vacant for over 20 years.
The Love Cottages date from around 1880, when the area was developed
as Memphis' first suburb. They are Victorian gable-front cottages
with a simple side hall plan. Each will contain approximately 1,275 square
feet of living space, with two bedrooms, a bath, kitchen, and living and
dining rooms. The houses will retain such original features as twelve-foot
ceilings, period moldings, and transoms.
The Love Cottage renovation is the first phase of Memphis Heritage's Greenlaw Heritage Neighborhood Initiative. The initiative represents Memphis Heritage's commitment to historic preservation through neighborhood revitalization and affordable homeownership opportunities in the Greenlaw neighborhood, an area targeted by the city for revitalization. The second phase of the plan includes building four more houses close to the Love Cottages.
The Greenlaw Historic Neighborhood Initiative has recieved enthusiastic support from the city. The city donated the four cottages to Memphis Heritage Inc. and HCD has provided funding for the renovations. Additional funding is provided through a construction loan from the Memphis Community Development Partnership, an affiliate organization of the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis.
The general contractor project is Flintco, Inc. During the course of renovation, Flintco worked in partnership with Youthbuild Memphis, a construction skills training program for low-income youths in Memphis and Shelby County. Archimania, P.C., provided architectural services for the project. Flintco and Archimania were also involved in the 24-unit Delmar-Lema shotgun renovation.